May I
by BehindTheMask4319068
Summary: David discovers after his dinner with Regina that he has feelings for her. Regina discovers the same thing after her failed attempt at kissing him, but doesn't come forward, afraid of being rejected. David tries to find a way to show Regina that he won't reject her and that he loves her. It is unexpected for the both of them when they fall in love. Story is better than the summary.
1. Chapter I: Reflection

_Disclaimer: Don't own Once Upon a Time. Believe me, if I did, Regina and David would have kissed in The Stranger and been together by now._

_Thanks so much to Nellie Potter for the help with the idea!_

May I

Chapter I

Regina watched David's reaction as she finished her story. "That's almost . . ." he started, trying to find the right words. "Almost like the universe wanted you to find me."

It took a few moments for Regina to register in her mind what he had just said. Unsure, she searched David's eyes for any sign that he was joking, only to find genuine sincerity. At that moment, she felt her chest tighten and her heart rate speed up as butterflies arose in her stomach; it was a feeling she hadn't felt since she had been with Daniel. Slowly, she leaned in towards him.

David's eyes widened slightly as Regina leaned toward him. He had been watching her expression, but had found that she was basically unreadable. But now, as she leaned in to—what David could only assume was—kiss him, his mind started a war with his racing heart. His first reaction was to pull away.

"I'm sorry, I-I hope you didn't get the wrong idea," he said, backing away slightly.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry," Regina replied, averting her eyes from David's as she felt tears prick them. "I just got . . . caught up in the moment."

David shook his head and winced slightly at her reaction. "You don't have to apologize," he objected, stepping forward. "It's just . . . we . . . this is great as it is."

There was silence for a few moments as Regina looked back up at David, blinking to keep her tears hidden. David looked up at her curiously and gave her a small, apologetic smile that ended up being more of a wince before nodding his head toward the door exiting the kitchen. Sighing, Regina looked down and closed her eyes to prevent any unwanted tears from falling before grabbing her wine glass. Slowly, she followed David to the front door and watched as he put his jacket on. "Thanks again for dinner," he said, turning to her and smiling.

Regina gave him a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes to hide her true feelings and watched as he let himself out of the mansion. Sighing, she turned around to face the mirror , taking a few steps toward it. For a few moments, she stared at her reflection in the mirror, bringing her lips to the wine glass as she contemplated what had just happened. How could she just expect him to kiss her back? How could she be so stupid; of course he wouldn't . . . not when he had sweet, _innocent_ Mary Margaret. Her chest tightened again as she thought of him and tears filled her eyes. Why did it even matter to her what he thought . . . or what he did? It was only for revenge on Snow anyway, it didn't mean _anything_ . . . _or _did_ it? _she thought. Her heart began to race again, and her breaths became shorter. Finally, the image in the mirror was only mocking her and she lost her temper, throwing the wine glass at the mirror and watching both shatter into a million pieces.

For a few moments, she only stood there in shock, attempting to take in deep breaths to calm the fit of tears she felt coming, but to no avail. Slowly, she sunk to the floor and leaned her head against the wall, letting the tears fall. She pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her head in her hands. At that specific moment, she felt more like a child than the powerful woman she really was. Running a hand through her hair, she silently cursed David as the tears continued to flow and soft sobs escaped her lips. No one had been able to make her feel this way since Daniel and she didn't know if she wanted to feel it . . . or if she was ready. She felt vulnerable, childlike . . . _frightened_.

"Madam Mayor," during all of this, she hadn't even realized that the door had opened until she heard the voice speak. She jumped slightly and looked up to see Emma and Henry standing in the doorway, looking quite shocked. Emma's eyes looked over Regina and her tear stained face, then at the glass covering the floor just by Regina's feet. "Are you hurt?" she asked, actually concerned after seeing the glass.

As quickly as she could, Regina stood up—if with a little bit of difficulty—and smoothed out her dress. "Yes, Miss Swan, I'm fine," she replied, forcing her voice to be as even as possible.

Emma narrowed her eyes at Regina and looked over the glass and then at the streak of red wine across the wall. "Is that wine?" she asked. "What happened?"

Regina sighed in frustration and stepped toward Emma. "That is none of your business, Miss Swan," she replied. "It was an accident. That's all." She paused and looked down at the mess, trying to discretely wipe the tears from her cheeks. "I'll clean it up."

With that, Regina carefully stepped over the glass and walked into the kitchen to find a broom and dustpan. Once she had left the room, Henry looked up at Emma. She gave him a confused look and shrugged. "I don't know, kid," she muttered.

A few moments later, Regina came back with the items she had left looking for and paused to look at Emma. "You may leave, Miss Swan," she retorted bitterly. "Henry, go upstairs. I don't want you stepping on any glass."

Henry said goodbye to Emma and did as he was told, glaring at Regina as he walked past her. Emma, on the other hand, stood her ground and remained exactly where she was. Regina stared at her for a moment before giving a scoff. "Did you not hear what I just said?" she asked.

"Oh, I did," Emma assured. "I just wanted to make sure that you're not going to do anything rash that will hurt Henry."

Regina glared at her, clutching the broom and dustpan in her hands. "Leave now, Miss Swan," she demanded, pointing to the door. She didn't like the fact that Emma had seen her at her most vulnerable and as an emotional wreck.

Glaring back, Emma couldn't help but wonder what really had happened. Something like this didn't just happen by accident; there was usually a purpose. She gave herself a mental note to find out what Regina was really up to before backing away toward the door. "Fine," she replied, opening the door. "But I will find out what actually happened here."

With that, Emma left and Regina stood glaring at the door. _Of course you will,_ she thought bitterly before gently kneeling down on the floor to clean up the broken glass.

...

_Authors Note: Sorry this is so short, guys. This kind of seemed like a good spot to leave it. I assure you, other chapters will be longer, and since I'm on like and EvilCharming high right now, I may add another chapter tomorrow . . . possibly tonight. Maybe. This definitely will be multi-chaptered. But yeah, I love EvilCharming so I just had to write one because I ran out of fics to read . . . Anywho, I'm not going to fangirl on you. Please review, favourite, alert . . . all that good stuff. The box is right down there . . ._

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	2. Chapter II: Something There

_Again, thank you so much to Nellie Potter. I owe you soo much._

May I

Chapter II

The next morning, David walked into Granny's diner, his mind still on the events of the previous evening. What exactly had happened? He knew that Regina had almost kissed him, but what he didn't understand was why he had the urge to kiss her back. Yeah, his first reaction was to back away, but his second reaction—which almost overpowered his first reaction—was to kiss her back. Why could he think of no one but Regina? It was beginning to frustrate him; he was supposed to be in love with Mary Margaret . . . he had left Kathryn for them to be possible.

"David!" he heard a voice call. He turned toward the voice and saw Mary Margaret sitting in a booth near the door. Putting on a smile, he walked over to her.

"Hey," he said as he sat down in the booth before looking at her watch and then to the clock. "Um, no school today?" he asked confused as he saw that it was 9:30 in the morning.

Mary Margaret gave him a confused look. "It's . . . Saturday, David," she informed.

With wide eyes David looked at her and shook his head. Wow, Regina really was getting to him. "Oh, yeah," he replied. "Sorry, I'm a little distracted today."

Giving him a questioning look, Mary Margaret took a sip of her hot chocolate with cinnamon. "About what?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, you know," David started improvising, and looked out the window. "The weather." He pointed out the window at the pouring rain.

Mary Margaret gave him a confused look but shrugged it off. "Okay then," she replied before standing up and placing some money on the table. "Anyway, I have to be off. Regina gave Emma permission to keep Henry for the day, and I promised him I'd be there." She picked up her purse and smiled. "See you, David."

David smiled as he watched Mary Margaret walk out the door and then sighed, taking a sip of the coffee Ruby had slipped him while Mary had been talking to him.

For a few moments, he sat in silence, contemplating his situation. Almost as if on cue to interrupt his thinking, the bell on the door chimed and in walked Regina. He stared for a moment as she walked up to the counter and order a coffee from Granny before averting his eyes.

"Thank you," Regina said as she took the coffee from Granny and turned to leave. As soon as she turned, she noticed David sitting at a booth directly next to the door. Quickly, she started walking towards the door.

Gathering up courage, David looked back up at the counter, only to notice that Regina was no longer there. He turned and saw her walking toward the door. "Regina, wait," he called, leaving money on the table and jumping up.

Regina froze when she heard David call her name, her hand on the door handle. Slowly, she turned to face him, giving him her trademark-raised eyebrow. "Can I help you, Mr. Nolan?" she asked coldly.

Noticing her coldness and the formal use of his last name, David took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for last night," he apologized. "It was on my mind all night and I . . . really shouldn't have acted like that." He watched as Regina's features softened slightly and all he could think of was kissing her full red lips right there. _No!_ David mentally kicked himself at the thought. _You love Mary Margaret . . . or do I?_

He was brought out of his trance when he heard Regina speak. "Well, I appreciate the apology, David," she started. "But I was a little bit out of line last night as well. As I said, I was just caught up in the moment." She paused and looked David over; curious by the daze he had been in moments earlier. "Have a good day, David," she added with a smile before opening the door and walking out of the diner.

Quickly, David followed her out into the rain. "Wait!" he called once more. Smirking, Regina turned around to face him again, raising her eyebrow in questioning. "At least let me make it up to you," he insisted.

Regina cocked her head at him and furrowed her brow slightly. "And how," she began. "Do you propose to do that, David?"

David shrugged. "I heard that Henry was with Emma today," he started. "Maybe I could take you on a picnic."

At that comment, Regina raised her eyebrow once more and let out a small, genuine laugh. "David, it's raining," she reminded him, gesturing to the rain around her.

David looked around and shook his head, mentally slapping himself. "No, sorry," he started. "Of course it is. I meant take you for lunch."

Regina gave him a smile as her eyes lit up lightly. "I would like that," she replied, thinking of what it would do to Mary Margaret but also quite excited about the lunch invite. Instantly, she tried to crush down the second thought.

Smiling, David nodded. "I'll pick you up around 1:00?" he asked. She nodded, her smile growing. "I'll see you later then?"

"You certainly will," Regina confirmed before quickly running around her car and opening the drivers door. She got in and waved to David before starting the engine and driving away.

As she drove back home, Regina felt a smile pass over her lips, not a smirk, a genuine smile. She felt her heart quicken as she thought of her lunch date with David and her stomach flip-flop. Quickly, she tried to crush down the thought, shaking her head. _No, this is not a date,_ she reminded herself. _You're using him to get your revenge on Snow; to break her pathetic little heart._ That's exactly what she was doing. _Don't deny it,_ a voice in the very back of her brain said as she drove into the driveway. _You actually have feelings for him. He reminds you of Daniel._ "No!" Regina groaned as she turned off the engine. "I will not do that to myself again," she whispered as she unlocked the door. "I can't have my heart broken again."

….

_Hey guys! Thanks so much for all the reviews! I didn't expect to get so many on the first chapter. I know this is short as well, but I felt this was where I should stop it. I will most likely be updating again tonight, and if not, tomorrow afternoon. I already know what I'm doing for the next chapter. Please review, favourite, alert, etc.! The box is right down there…_

_V_


	3. Chapter III: I Don't Deserve You

May I

Chapter III

At precisely one o'clock, the doorbell rang. Regina had spent the rest of the morning trying to crush down any feelings of love she may have acquired for David. But when she heard the doorbell ring, the butterflies in her stomach started up for the third time in less than two days and she cursed under her breath as she walked to the door.

Before opening it, she checked her reflection in the mirror. She hadn't changed much since David last saw her, but she decided to go a little more casual than her work attire, considering it _was_ only lunch. Now, she was wearing a royal blue blouse and a pair of black dress pants, seeing as she didn't actually own a pair of jeans.

She shook her head after looking at her appearance. _It doesn't mean anything,_ she tried to remind herself once again. As soon as her hand gripped the doorknob, however, her heart began racing again and she found she didn't have to force the smile she greeted David with.

"David. How like you to be so punctual," she teased.

David chuckled slightly. "Yes, well," he started. "Some people don't like it when company comes early because there not ready, and I know many people who hate to be kept waiting. Why not just come on time?"

"I like the way you think," Regina said, smiling. "Shall we?" She gestured to the walkway leading to the gate to her property.

David shook his head to rid it of the distracting thoughts travelling through his brain. "Yes, of course," he replied, offering his arm to Regina.

Regina stared at David's offered arm wearily. _Take it,_ the voice in the back of her head said. _This is Daniel telling you to move on._ Taking a deep breath, she took David's arm and gave him a smile, allowing him to lead her down the walkway to his car. Once there, he opened the passenger side door for her and she gave a small laugh. "Well, aren't we the gentleman," she teased, getting into the car. "Thank you," she added as he closed the door.

As he walked around to the driver's side, David smiled. This certainly was a side of Regina he wasn't used to seeing. She wasn't as serious and . . . well, terrifying when she was with him; she actually seemed to have a good sense of humor and—dare he say it?—a good heart.

"So where are we going?" Regina asked as he got into the car and started the engine.

He turned to her and smiled. "Can't tell you that," he said.

Raising her eyebrows, Regina gave a small laugh. "Oh is that a surprise?" she asked.

David smiled and then let it fall slightly in embarrassment. "No, I just," he started. "Don't remember what it's called."

At that comment, Regina actually did laugh, a genuine laugh that many had never actually heard. David couldn't help but smile at the sound. "Well, I suppose that's a good enough excuse."

"All I know," David started. "Is that it's by Mr. Gold's shop."

"Oh, yes," Regina replied, nodding in understanding. "Not too fancy, but not fast food at Granny's."

Grinning, David nodded. "Yes, exactly," he confirmed as he drove down the road and past Mr. Gold's shop.

Within minutes, he was parked outside the small restaurant. Regina moved to open her door, only to be stopped by David. Quickly, he got out of the car and ran to the other side to open the door. Stepping out, Regina smiled. _Well, the name Charming definitely does suit him, _she thought as she took his arm yet again. "Thank you, again," she smiled.

They got themselves settled at a table in the small restaurant and David let himself study her. She didn't actually smile very often; well, she did, but it was never a real smile. He could tell that this was a real smile by the way her eyes lit up and her cheeks glowed. "You're beautiful when you smile," he confessed. "You should do it more often."

At the compliment, Regina felt her cheeks colour in slight embarrassment and looked down to hide it. "Why, thank you," she replied, mentally kicking herself for allowing him to see so much, even though a smile wasn't actually _that_ much.

David chuckled lightly. "It's true."

They spent lunch exchanging polite conversation, getting to know one another a little better, Regina all the while trying to keep herself from revealing too much of her vulnerable side but failing miserably. David on the other hand, found out so much more about the Mayor that—he thought—most likely no one else knew. He now found that his feelings for her had grown even stronger and along with it, his confusion over his relationship with her and Mary Margaret.

While he was studying Regina and pondering over his feelings, he didn't realized where he was putting his drink and completely missed the table. The glass crashed to the floor, luckily not breaking, but still splashing its liquid over the both of them. Both sat in complete shock as they tried to establish what had happened. David looked up at Regina, whose eyes were wide, and tried to find the words to apologize. Regina on the other hand, just burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Looking at her quite confused, David cocked his head to the side. He _definitely _had _never_ seen Regina laugh like this. He couldn't help but smile at it. "I'm glad you find this funny," he joked as a waiter came to help clean it up.

Regina continued to laugh. After a few moments, she took a deep breath to calm herself. "I'm sorry," she started. "I just . . ." With that, she started laughing again. "I haven't had this much fun in years," she admitted. "You have no idea how long it's been."

David paused and studied her once more. Yes, he definitely felt something stronger than he did with Mary Margaret . . . but he didn't understand it. "Regina . . ." he started, unsure.

Regina stopped laughing, and looked back at him, a smile on her face. "Yes?" she asked.

"I need to . . ." he started. "Tell you something . . ."

_Oh, no,_ Regina thought, starting to panic, her heart beginning to race. _I think I know exactly where this is going._ She nodded at him, her smile faltering slightly, but remaining for reasons unknown to her conscious mind.

"I've been having . . ." David hesitated, unsure of how to approach the topic. "Well, as of late—meaning last night, I guess—I've noticed that I've been having feelings for you . . ."

Regina's eyes widened and her smile completely fell in shock. "David . . ."

"Believe me, I don't understand it either," he started. "But you've been all I could think about since last night . . . and now, after getting to know you a little better, I think I'm starting to understand them a little better . . ."

Regina stared at David as he continued to speak, tears filling her eyes. _No, this wasn't supposed to happen! He wasn't supposed to fall in love with me! _She felt her heart swell and melt as he confessed his feelings for her. Quickly, she shook her head and tried to stomp the unfamiliar feelings down. _And I wasn't supposed to have feelings for him! It was all to hurt Snow._ "David," she said again, a little more weakly this time. He continued to talk. "David, please!" she said a little louder.

He looked at her surprised and saw the tears in her eyes threatening to spill down her cheeks. "Regina . . . what's wrong?" he whispered.

She shook her head as the tears began to fall. "We can't do this," she whispered. "I can't love you. I j-just . . . I-I can't. It's too . . ." She paused as more tears fell down her cheeks. Taking a deep breath, she looked into his eyes. "Can you take me home," she asked weakly. She hated herself for the tone of her voice. She sounded like a frightened, vulnerable child again.

David was shocked, but nodded anyway and asked for the check.

The drive back to Regina's house was silent, all except for the occasional sniff from Regina's recovering tears. David stopped the car at the gate to the mansion and started to get out before Regina stopped him. Just from the look in her eyes, he knew to listen. He felt like he had broken her and he felt guilty.

"Thank you," she whispered. "I enjoyed it a lot." She turned from him and put her hand on the door handle, pausing. "I don't deserve you," she whispered, before getting out of the car and running into the house.

All David could do for a few moments was stare at Regina's front door in shock. _I don't deserve you._ The words replayed over and over again in his head. Obviously something had happened to Regina to make her feel that way. She felt that she couldn't be loved ever again. _I'll find a way to show you,_ he thought to himself before driving away.

…

_There, that was a little bit longer, I think. Still not as long as I usually write, but still good. And I updated again tonight as promised. Hope you liked this chapter! Please review, favourite, alert, all that good stuff! Again, there's the box!_

_V_


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